2006 United States Senate election in Ohio
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| Turnout | 53.25% (Registered Voters) | ||||||||||||||||
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 County results Brown: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% DeWine: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Ohio |
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The 2006 United States Senate election in Ohio was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Mike DeWine ran for re-election, but was defeated by Democratic congressman Sherrod Brown.[1] As of 2025, this is the most recent time a Democratic Senate candidate in Ohio won a race by double digits. Following his defeat, DeWine would later successfully run for attorney general and governor of Ohio in 2010 and 2018, respectively.
Background
The incumbent Republican Senator R. Michael DeWine had approval ratings at 38%,[2] making him the second most unpopular U.S. Senator behind Pennsylvania Republican Rick Santorum, who was also up for reelection in 2006. Pre-election stories in the U.S. media suggested that the national Republican Party may have given up on saving Senator DeWine's Senate seat before election day.[citation needed] Sherrod Brown, former Ohio Secretary of State and U.S. Representative from Ohio's 13th district, easily won the Democratic nomination over Merrill Keiser Jr.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Declared
- Sherrod Brown, U.S. Representative
- Merrill Keiser Jr., trucking business owner/operator and Vietnam War veteran
Withdrew
- Paul Hackett, Iraq War veteran
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Sherrod Brown | 583,776 | 78.11% | |
| Democratic | Merrill Keiser Jr. | 163,628 | 21.89% | |
| Total votes | 747,404 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Mike DeWine, incumbent U.S. Senator
- David Smith, candidate for OH-02 in 2005
- William G. Pierce, engineer
Campaign
Both candidates campaigned as conservative alternatives to DeWine, citing DeWine's support for legal abortion and his role as one of the Republican members of the Gang of 14 who compromised with Democrats in a dispute about judicial appointments.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike DeWine (incumbent) | 555,962 | 71.82% | |
| Republican | David Smith | 112,427 | 14.52% | |
| Republican | William Pierce | 105,734 | 13.66% | |
| Total votes | 774,123 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Campaign
The Republican party, which was facing multiple challenges to their Senate majority, was initially determined to assist DeWine in his competitive race while the National Democratic party supported Brown in hopes of taking control of the Senate. John McClelland, a spokesman for the Ohio Republican Party said, "It's vitally important to the Republican Party as a whole, so I think that's why you see the president coming to Ohio to support Mike DeWine." Phil Singer, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said, "Mike DeWine Senior is in for the fight of his life, make no mistake about it."[4]
On July 14, 2006, DeWine's campaign began airing TV commercials depicting a smoking World Trade Center. "The senator was notified... by a reporter at U.S. News & World Report that the image of the burning Twin Towers could not have depicted the actual event because the smoke was blowing the wrong way."[5][6] DeWine's campaign admitted that the video was actually a still photo of the World Trade Center with smoke digitally added.[5] He also was criticized for using an emotionally charged image to attack his challenger.[6]
Another of DeWine's ads suggested that opponent Sherrod Brown didn't pay his taxes for thirteen years. This claim led to the Associated Press reporting on October 19 that, "Several Ohio television stations have stopped airing a Republican ad because state documents contradict the ad's accusation that Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown didn't pay an unemployment tax bill for 13 years." Brown produced a commercial citing these facts.[7] DeWine's ads were changed to state only that he had failed to pay his unemployment taxes until legal action was taken against him.
On October 16, 2006, The New York Times reported that top national Republicans were moving resources away from the Ohio Senate race, as they had determined that DeWine was likely to lose and were seeking to spend money on races where Republican candidates were seen as having a better chance of winning.[8]
Debates
- Complete video of debate, October 1, 2006
- Complete video of debate, October 13, 2006
- Complete video of debate, October 19, 2006
- Complete video of debate, October 27, 2006
Fundraising
During the election cycle, DeWine raised $14.9 million and spent $15.5 million.[9] Brown raised $8.9 million and spent $10.8 million.[10]
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[11] | Lean D (flip) | November 6, 2006 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[12] | Likely D (flip) | November 6, 2006 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[13] | Likely D (flip) | November 6, 2006 |
| Real Clear Politics[14] | Lean D (flip) | November 6, 2006 |
Polling
| Source | Date | Sherrod Brown (D) |
Mike DeWine (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zogby | October 31, 2005 | 40% | 37% |
| Rasmussen | December 2, 2005 | 41% | 43% |
| Rasmussen | January 7, 2006 | 40% | 45% |
| Rasmussen | February 18, 2006 | 37% | 46% |
| Rasmussen | March 31, 2006 | 42% | 45% |
| Zogby/WSJ | March 31, 2006 | 46% | 37% |
| Rasmussen | April 24, 2006 | 41% | 43% |
| Mason-Dixon | April 26, 2006 | 36% | 47% |
| Rasmussen | May 15, 2006 | 44% | 41% |
| University of Cincinnati | May 25, 2006 | 42% | 52% |
| Survey USA | June 13, 2006 | 48% | 39% |
| Zogby/WSJ | June 21, 2006 | 47% | 34% |
| Rasmussen | June 27, 2006 | 39% | 46% |
| Columbus Dispatch | July 23, 2006 | 45% | 37% |
| Zogby/WSJ | July 24, 2006 | 45% | 37% |
| Rasmussen | August 1, 2006 | 44% | 42% |
| SurveyUSA | August 5, 2006 | 49% | 41% |
| Rasmussen | August 26, 2006 | 45% | 42% |
| Zogby/WSJ | August 28, 2006 | 47% | 39% |
| Gallup | September 5, 2006 | 46% | 40% |
| Zogby/WSJ | September 11, 2006 | 45% | 41% |
| Rasmussen | September 13, 2006 | 47% | 41% |
| Quinnipiac | September 20, 2006 | 45% | 44% |
| University of Cincinnati | September 20, 2006 | 51% | 47% |
| SurveyUSA | September 21, 2006 | 52% | 42% |
| Columbus Dispatch | September 24, 2006 | 47% | 42% |
| Zogby/WSJ | September 28, 2006 | 45% | 41% |
| University of Akron | September 29, 2006 | 42% | 42% |
| Mason-Dixon | October 1, 2006 | 45% | 43% |
| Reuters/Zogby | October 5, 2006 | 41% | 41% |
| Rasmussen | October 5, 2006 | 49% | 41% |
| SurveyUSA | October 12, 2006 | 54% | 40% |
| Rasmussen | October 13, 2006 | 48% | 42% |
| Quinnipiac | October 17, 2006 | 53% | 41% |
| University of Cincinnati | October 17, 2006 | 52% | 45% |
| CBS News/New York Times | October 17, 2006 | 49% | 35% |
| Mason-Dixon/MSNBC | October 24, 2006 | 48% | 40% |
| Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg | October 24, 2006 | 47% | 39% |
| Rasmussen | October 26, 2006 | 53% | 41% |
| SurveyUSA | October 26, 2006 | 57% | 37% |
| Opinion Consultants | October 22–30, 2006 | 51% | 44% |
| CNN/Opinion Research Corporation | October 31, 2006 | 54% | 43% |
| Reuters/Zogby International | November 2, 2006 | 56% | 42% |
| Rasmussen | November 4, 2006 | 54% | 43% |
| Mason-Dixon/MSNBC-McClatchy | November 5, 2006 | 50% | 44% |
| Columbus Dispatch | November 5, 2006 | 62% | 38% |
| University of Cincinnati Ohio Poll | November 6, 2006 | 56% | 44% |
| SurveyUSA | November 6, 2006 | 54% | 42% |
Results
Brown was declared the winner right when the polls closed in Ohio at 7:30. DeWine had the second worst performance of a Republican incumbent in 2006; only Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum had a worse performance. While DeWine was able to win rural counties in western Ohio, Brown managed to win most eastern Ohio counties, especially in heavily populated areas. DeWine's narrow 2,000 vote victory in Hamilton County which is home to Cincinnati, came nowhere close to making a dent in Brown's lead. Brown would go on to be reelected to a second term in 2012, and a third term in 2018. Also in 2018, both Brown and DeWine were on the ballot but this time for different races; DeWine would be elected Governor of Ohio.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Sherrod Brown | 2,257,369 | 56.16% | +20.0 | |
| Republican | Mike DeWine (incumbent) | 1,761,037 | 43.82% | −15.8 | |
| Independent | Richard Duncan | 830 | 0.02% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 4,019,236 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
See also
References
- ^ "Democrats Score First Senate Win". CBS News. November 7, 2006. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2006.
- ^ www.surveyusa.com.
- ^ "2006 Election Results". June 13, 2006. Archived from the original on June 13, 2006. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
- ^ Collins, Michael (February 23, 2006). "Bush visit all politics this time". The Kentucky Post. Covington, Kentucky: E. W. Scripps Company. Archived from the original on August 28, 2006.
- ^ a b Nation & World: DeWine blunder adds fuel to controversial September 11 ad - U.S. News & World Report Archived October 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Washington Post".[dead link]
- ^ "Sherrod Brown". Archived from the original on March 6, 2008. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
- ^ Adam Nagourney, "In Final Weeks, G.O.P. Focuses on Best Bets", The New York Times, October 16, 2006.
- ^ "Sen. Mike DeWine: Campaign Finance/Money - Summary - Senator 2006 | OpenSecrets". www.opensecrets.org. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- ^ "Rep. Sherrod Brown: Campaign Finance/Money - Summary - Representative 2006 | OpenSecrets". www.opensecrets.org. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- ^ "2006 Senate Race Ratings for November 6, 2006" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2008. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ "Election Eve 2006: THE FINAL PREDICTIONS". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ "2006 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ "Election 2006". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
External links
- Mike DeWine for Senate
- Sherrod Brown for Senate
- 2006 Ohio Senate race profile, analysis of campaign finances by OpenSecrets.
- Senator Mike DeWine, positions and voting record, an analysis by Project Vote Smart.
- Representative Sherrod Brown positions and voting record, an analysis by Project Vote Smart.